Thrifty Thursday – Lemons are your secret weapon….

May 2, 2013

Lemon’s don’t only make gorgeous cakes like this one or like these sticky muffins. They’re also great to use for cleaning around the house – they’re cheap (I often get them reduced at the end of the day in the supermarket), they smell nice, they’re chemical free and they’re effective.

What more could you ask for….

You’ve probably heard this one before but try cutting a lemon in half and squeezing it into a microwave proof bowl with a little warm water. Pop it in the microwave and cook for 3 or 4 minutes and you’ll then be able to easily wipe the dirt off the inside of the microwave.

Before you squeeze the lemon for cleaning your microwave, give any stainless steel taps a rub over with it. Wipe over with a cloth soaked in warm water to get rid of the stickiness and the taps will come up shiny bright and limescale free.

I’ve never tried this one but half a lemon on a saucer in your fridge will reduce horrible smells. Just change it once a week to keep it fresh.

You can clean windows and mirrors by diluting a couple of tablespoons of lemon juice with water in a spray bottle. Spray on to the surface and wipe off with a dry cloth or some newspaper. This also works great on glass shower screens – especially if you give them a rub over with half a lemon first.

Another one I haven’t tried but have been recommended is to boil a couple of lemon slices in your kettle to clean it. Leave it for a few hours and then empty and rinse it out.

They’re also good at removing grease stains (or at least making them less obvious) by rubbing a lemon over the stain and leaving overnight before washing as normal.

And finally, my favourite. If you make a thick paste using lemon juice and bicarbonate of soda, you set off a chemical reaction that will clean even the most stubborn stains. I made a thick paste and spread it on to a small patch on a patch of a rather dirty oven door (not mine), left it on for an hour and a half and then scrubbed it off. Even I was suprised at the results although I’m glad I’m not the one doing the full door….

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Comments

I love green cleaning ideas! Here is one trick I know from my mother:Use a small amount of vinegar, baking soda or salt to prepare a paste and use the paste to clean bronze, copper or brass pots or utensils. carpetcleanerscleaning.co.uk

Thanks for being more informative, the use of lemon is quite necessary when you doing such things like salads and others, the ways to use the lemon given here are also seems to be more interesting too, surely will look forward that. assignment writing service

I’m doing our oven this weekend with my brother and we have been looking for tips that won’t upset my breastfeeding wife – and there are more than enough to keep us going here lol. Our son has been baby led weaning… it's brilliant, but we seem to be cooking proper meals so much more now. That's not a bad thing, but this is our first time cleaning it ourselves so it’s a bit daunting considering in the past we’ve always used companies to do it! I’d definitely recommend oven cleaning kent or oven cleaner sheffield if you’re close by to them, but if you’re going for the DIY route like we are going to try, this page looks perfect! Thanks again

Whenever I cook with lemons I throw the leftover bits (usually the 'shell' of the lemon, minus its pith and minus its juice) straight in the kettle afterwards. They work a treat at descaling, and are non toxic so if you do accidentally forget the lemon is in there and make a tea afterwards, you've just got lemon tea!

I pop 1/2 lemon in the dishwasher to freshen it up too. Love lemons and I nearly always rub the used halves of lemon after I squeezed the juice out on my hands. Really make them soft and it is also great for getting off gardening stains of your hands too!!!

About

Cass is a mother of two children, aged 10 and 12. She's happily married, works part time and likes to eat cake and drink the odd cocktail. Cass tries to save money wherever possible and shares her family's ups and downs on their journey to living a more frugal lifestyle.